Re: Gould's Petrel conservation

Interesting to hear of Irene D's exploits with this rare seabird.
GEO magazine had an article about the species earlier this year which
highlighted the fact that Pied
Currawongs were amongst the main villains w.r.t Gould's P conservation. I seem
to remember the
Currawongs behaved like Butcherbirds, attacking Petrels and wedging there
bodies in the trees.
Maybe Irene can confirm this.
The RAOU's publication HANZAB (vol. 1A, p 502) notes that in Australia the
species only breeds on
Cabbage Tree Island and also that the European Rabbit was introduced to the
island in 1906. In 1943
the island was used for gunnery practice (!) until this was stopped.
Apparently the removal of the ground layer by Rabbits helps the Currawongs
secure Petrels. Remove
the Rabbits and maybe the Petrel will survive in greater numbers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Martin O'Brien
Wildlife Policy Officer
Flora and Fauna Branch
Department of Natural Resources and Environment
4/250 Victoria Pde.,
GPO Box 41
East Melbourne, 3002
Victoria, AUSTRALIA
Tel: +61 3 9412 4273
Fax: +61 3 9412 4586
e-mail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------